ROCK Pi 4 – ixypsilon.net

26. April 20243. Juli 2024

ROCK Pi 4: Software RAID & encrypted LVM

I want to use my ROCK Pi 4, among other things, for a web server, a mail server and a cloud storage, so reliability is quite important. In the setup I use up until now I only have a backup, so if the SSD with my root file system would fail all these services would be down – and I would be really stressed out – for several hours (until I manage to get home, install Debian and restore the system). That’s why I decided to make use of data mirroring (RAID 1) for my new home server.

I also want to strengthen security, so I encrypt all partitions (dm-crypt) except my boot partition. And since I’m not entirely convinced of my chosen partitioning scheme I make use of the Logical Volume Manager to be able to manage my partitions more flexible.

Here I wrote down how I managed to encrypt all partitions (except my boot partition), mirror my whole file system (including the boot partition) and ensure that my boot loader U-Boot can read the files necessary to boot the system.

22. Mai 202312. November 2024

ROCK Pi 4: Blobless Bootloader

This page was last updated on July 19th, 2024.

One of the main reasons why I opted for the ROCK Pi 4A for my home server was that it runs fine with only (!) free software. So as bootloader I want to use Das U-Boot without any binary blobs. Here I wrote down how I installed U-Boot (mainline) first on a microSD card and then the soldered SPI flash.

20. April 202315. Juni 2023

ROCK Pi 4: M.2 Extension Board & Aluminum Housing Assembly

I’m planning to use my ROCK Pi 4 as a home server with an NVMe M.2 SSD for the root file system. Therefore I bought an M.2 extension board v1.6 and an ecoPI PRO HP aluminum housing. Here I want to share some pictures of the assembly.